Many consumer electronic devices, such as “Internet of Things” types of devices, include limited or no display and/or user input hardware. Instead, such devices rely on the use of other systems to fully control or otherwise realize their capabilities. For example, many IoT types of devices rely on use of a smartphone and a custom smartphone app for interacting with and controlling them. Correctly identifying, and then successfully installing and configuring such apps is often an uncertain and/or tedious process. Even after a device has been successfully paired with a smartphone app, experiences such as having to install separate apps for a significant number devices, accessing the appropriate app for a particular device, and limitations in smartphone form factors and interfaces is tedious and complicated. Such factors pose significant barriers to widespread adoption of such devices.